Open Marriage, Broken Promises: When Love Turns to Ashes novel Chapter 54

For our honeymoon during the New Year, my husband Sean Buzz decided to bring along his little childhood sweetheart Lily Larson.

In a bid to cheer up the heartbroken little green plum, my husband deliberately shoved me—pregnant and all—into a river.

I struggled in the water, helpless and in pain, crying out for help.

But they just stood on the bank, laughing like mad.

"Emily Sullivan, are you stupid or what? The water's so shallow, just stand up! Stop pretending!"

"I'm going to dinner with Lily, don't have time to deal with you. You can keep acting for all we care!"

I watched them walk away in despair, barely hearing my husband's indifferent voice.

"What's with all the childhood trauma talk? You're just being dramatic!"

When I finally climbed out of the water, drenched and exhausted, I saw that the little green plum had posted on her social media.

"Having a childhood sweetheart is the best. He knows I'm afraid of water, so he carries me over little puddles and even bathes with me. I'm going to be his little princess forever!"

Below, my husband had commented.

"My wife can't compare to you. I really wish she had drowned when she was younger, then I could've married you instead!"

In that moment, I knew—it was over. My marriage was finished.

It was already deep into the night when I returned to the hotel.

The twenty miles felt like a blur. I don't even know how I dragged my frozen body, stiff from the river water, one step at a time to get back.

Now that I finally had a moment to relax, I realized my entire body had gone numb from the cold.

I stood at the door, disheveled and with a painful ache in my heart.

I still couldn't believe that the husband I had loved for seven years would push me into the river and watch me struggle in agony without a hint of concern.

I wiped away the tear stains from my eyes and slowly pushed open the door.

Hearing the sound, Sean looked up from inside.

When he saw it was me, he frowned in annoyance, but when he noticed my hands were frozen and purple, his expression changed. He rushed over and quickly brought me inside.

He held my hands with tenderness, scolding me softly, "Are you crazy? Why did you walk back by yourself in this cold? I was just teasing you. I'll still pick you up tomorrow! How could I really leave you there?"

Later, he kept his word and never let me suffer.

But ever since Lily appeared, he changed.

Now, he was still as sunny as before, but that warmth no longer belonged only to me.

I'd seen the best of Sean, so I couldn't accept the ending we had now.

Tears were about to fall, but I desperately held back, refusing to let myself cry in a way that would strip me of my dignity.

But the next moment, Sean's casual words shattered my resolve.

"I know you're upset, but Lily just broke up, and she's feeling down. As her sister-in-law, it's your job to cheer her up, don't make a big deal out of it."

"Stop it. Be generous. In a few days, you can just give her a gift and make it right."

In that instant, I felt like I had fallen into an ice pit. The bitter acid in my chest nearly corroded my insides.

Never before had I understood so clearly that Sean had changed his heart.

He was concerned for the heartbroken Lily, but who was there to care for me?